Lifeless
by MGstars
Summary: Sequel to Afterlife. Regina wakes up, and Robin discovers that he hadn't anticipated who he would be facing. Will their love be stronger than the darkness?


_A/N : I am not at all ashamed to admit that I lied to my friends when I told them I wasn't working on this sequel of Afterlife XD I wanted it to be a surprise. I hope you won't be too disappointed. This part is, I think, darker, somehow way different than the initial story, but maybe you'll like it?_

 _It's not betaread, so I apologize again and again for all the mistakes. I'm so sorry for them._

 _By the way, about my other stories. Betareading isn't finished for all of them, and I'm soon (and finally!) gonna leave for holidays, so I honestly have no idea when I'll update. Also, writing this and the prompts I was asked, and working litteraly days and nights, I'm kind of behind in my multichapters. I need time to catch up, because I'm running out of chapters for WIRM and Chase. I'll do what I can, but I hope you understand :-)_

 _Anyway, don't hesitate to share your thoughts about this one._

* * *

Robin freezes, eyes opening wide as he sees her eyelids flutter open, her fingers move, and for a moment, he just stares at her. He stares, and then realizes, his feet leading him to her, hand outstretched forward, dying to touch her, to reach her, to meet her eyes again.

"Regina?"

His voice is hesitant, a bit shy, but so full of hope, so much tainted with love that he feels like his own heart is crying out with joy in his chest.

But there's no other answer than a slow, very low breathing, the sound of lungs filling with air, a chest rising and falling, a fist closing.

Robin tempers his excitement, holds his own breath, not looking away from her. He sends his hand forward, and it covers her forearm gently.

His mistake.

Regina's whole body tense, her arm moving away quickly, a low groan escaping her throat, and before Robin has realized, she has broken the sides of the coffin made of glass, sitting straight and jumping out of it with a painful cry. Her gaze is erratic, her movements quick and unsure, her attitude clearly showing fear and confusion.

She's lost, Robin realizes.

In the despair of his pain, in the loss of her, he forgot. He forgot how it was like. How he woke up.

Terrified and confused, his instinct awake, his senses acute, his mind overwhelmed.

So he walks carefully in her direction, making sure to be quiet. She's curled up in a corner of the room, trembling hands covering her ears, breath heavy, eyes screwed shut.

It hurts.

Seeing her like this, hurts. But at the same time, she's alive. Well, not _alive_ , but not dead. She's _here_. She's with him.

He crouches in front of her, forcing himself not to touch her, even though he's dying to. Damn, she only died a few hours ago, and he misses her more than he thought he ever would.

For a moment, he just waits. He gives her time, lets her adjust, realize, understand. And then he moves. His hand is only an inch from her, his breath held with anxiety, his heart swelling with love, but before he makes contact, she tenses, reacts sharply, swapping at his hand with a force he's not used to be confronted to. In less than two seconds, she has moved to her feet, her fingers closed over his throat, lifting him from the floor and pinning him to the wall across the room, fingernails digging into his skin.

"Regina-" he attempts, but his windpipe is almost completely crushed under the pressure of her palm.

"What have you done to me?" she spits, and Robin startles.

Her voice has changed entirely. Her voice is deep, her tone is harsh, strong, angry and definitely aggressive, not at all the one he's used to hear from her.

"I-"

"What have you done?" she screams, cutting him off again, completely unaware of his inability to speak.

Robin focuses, gathers his strength, and with one and fast movement, grabs her wrist and removes it from his throat, falling to his feet and holding her tight.

"I saved you!" he argues, fighting his raspy voice and lack of air, recovering quickly. "I saved you from death!"

Regina closes her eyes as he speaks, letting out another painful groan when he understands that even the sound of his voice is too much for her right now.

But she's just as quick to recover as he is.

"It doesn't feel like saving." She argues, clearly struggling to get everything under control. "What is happening to me?"

"You're changing, my love. You're transforming."

"Into what?"

"Into what I am."

Regina's eyes snap up, staring at him in disbelief "You're kidding me?" and then, she destroys him a bit more when she adds "You turned me into a monster?"

Robin ignores the invisible slap he just received, closes his fists to stay in control "I turned you into an immortal."

But before he can react, something happens. Something that makes everything worse.

"Master?"

The shy voice of one of the lads working for him resonates in the room as he creeks the door open, and if the piercing sound has Regina taking a step back and covering her ears again, he knows exactly what just made her head snap up and her pupils become dilated.

Blood.

Thirst.

The sound of blood rushing through the man's veins, the beating of vessels in his neck, all of these are too appealing for a newborn vampire.

He barely has time to jump between them, catches Regina before she reaches the young man, fights her newly given strength and thirst.

"Get out!" He screams to his employee, petrified in the entrance. "Get out of here now!"

As he says that, the sound of his voice resonates in the small room, and despite her evident hunger and eagerness to grab the man and empty him from his blood, Regina freezes, lets out a ragging scream, losing her focus for a second and Robin uses this moment to project her against a wall across the room, giving himself a second to think, waiting for her next move.

Luckily, she stays still, appears to be conscious but a bit stunned (he controlled the strength he pushed her with, but she did hit a wall after all).

Then, she slowly, very slowly, looks up at him.

And smiles.

But it's not Regina's smile.

At the corner of her mouth, on each side, there are long, thin, and very, extremely sharp canines.

The soft features of her face have been replaced by a crinkled expression, one that he knows very much for carrying the same, and if his heart is still beating, it is also slowly crushing in his chest.

What did he do?

"You really thought you were gonna keep your sweet little girlfriend?" Robin startles, the voice being harsh, rough, aggressive, and he doesn't move, just stares while Regina gets up to face him. "You thought she was so _pure_ she was going to escape this curse? That she was going to beat it?"

"No." He argues. "I just wanted to save you."

"Me?" She laughs, mocking him openly. "You didn't save _her_. You freed _me_. You let me out." She takes a step towards him "the monster behind the mask. That's how she was calling it, didn't she?" In front of his silence, she smirks. "Yeah. The only person who had faith in you. The only one who saw beauty in this… _disgusting_ thing that you are." She spits.

Robin struggles to stay calm. He knows these words aren't Regina's. He knows that's the monster talking. All he needs to do, is bring the woman he knows back to the surface.

How, is what he needs to figure out.

It took him months, years, decades to overcome his thirst for blood and vengeance. Alone in the world, after murdering every survivor to the illness that had taken his castle, after feeding from their blood and tearing their bodies apart, after realizing that what he thought was only a cure for his heartbreak was actually a malediction turning him into what people call a vampire, a beast only answering to the call of blood and death, he became a loner, an animal, living in the castle which still had blood on its walls. After all the bloodbaths he had been responsible for for decades, after seeing the face of a child he had just fed from stare at him even in his death, reminding him of his family, reminding him of _Roland_ , it had taken all his will, but he had been determined to stop.

And he had found no other solution but to lock himself in his castle, closing all doors and curtains, screaming and punching walls whenever the thirst was too strong to bear.

He had been close to kill himself more than once then, to open the curtains at noon in the middle of summer and let the nature do its job, getting rid of him instantly.

But he never could.

Until someone came to help him.

" _Lord Locksley?"_

 _Robin approached the close door, the pulse of blood running in the man's veins calling him even through a thick wooden surface._

" _Lord Locksley, please! Let me in! I can help you."_

" _How?" He asked, curious, closing his fists to fight his instinct._

 _It was the first word he spoke in months, and his voice was raspy, weak, and if he was being honest, a little desperate too._

" _Open the door and I'll tell you."_

 _His hand was on the knob, ready to pull on it, but there was another question in his mind._

" _Why?"_

 _And the unexpected answer. "Because you know me."_

 _Curiosity won, and Robin made the door crack as he pulled it open, discovering an old man's face, one that wasn't familiar._

 _He was about to ask, but the man just smiled at him, and held his hand between them, his fist opening, palm up, to reveal…_

 _Robin took the soldier made of terra cotta, his hand trembling, body tensed from his struggle to being close of fresh food after so much time without feeding, but all his attention was focused on the small, old, and full of flaws object._

 _He looked up at the man, who was silently observing him,smiling knowingly._

" _Ethan?" Robin breathed._

 _He received a small nod in answer._

" _Hello, Robin."_

" _But… How?"_

" _I'm very old. Obviously not as much as you are, and unlike you my body carries the traces of my age, but I was blessed with a long life."_

" _Why are you back?"_

" _Because I heard that you changed sinceI left when I was a little boy, and I want to help you go back to the man Marian and Roland loved so much."_

" _That man died a long time ago." Robin sighed. "It's too late for me."_

" _It doesn't have to be."_

 _Pushing the door open wider, inviting the man in, his son's closest friend who kept for almost a century Roland's favorite toy in souvenir of their friendship, Robin sighed. "After everything I did, all the lives I destroyed, there is no redemption for me."_

" _On the contrary, my friend. Redemption began for you when you chose to stop killing. So there's still hope. You just have to believe you can do it."_

It took months. It took the old man months to make Robin turn back to the man he was before. To prove Robinhe could succeed in his task, Ethan asked his own family made of several generations, to come live at the castle. Together, they made the place work again, cleaned it from floor to ceiling. They helped Robin overcome his thirst for blood, bear human's presence, bury the monster inside.

They also buried Ethan in the small crypt next to Marian and Roland's exactly one year after he showed up to Robin's door in the middle of a summer night.

And his family became, generation after generation, Robin's butler, gardener, cook… The lord provided for them food, a home, money, and their presence, along with the soldier's figure resting on top of the fireplace in the main hall, were a constant reminder of the life he escaped from and never wanted to go back to.

There were good days, and bad ones, when the need to feed was so strong he usually was asking everyone to leave the castle for a few hours, and isolated himself in his room until the feeling had passed.

He never became reallyfriend with Ethan's descendants, but from the beginning until now, there was always a deep respect between them. They knew his secret and were making sure no one else would learn about it, and also that he wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Thinking about a way to get rid of me?" Regina sneers, shaking him off of his thoughts.

Robin stares at her right in the eyes. "I swear. I will find a way to get her back."

She scoffs. "You can keep trying. But I have no intention to go away."

Robin takes a step back, hands ready in his back. "Try me! In the meantime, you're going to stay here. There's no way I'm releasing you in the nature."

"How do you plan to keep me in here?"

"Oh, trust me! Every wall and door of this castle has been reinforced so I could be contained inside in case I was losing control. If you plan to escape, I wish you good luck, because it's not going to happen anytime soon."

She begins running to him with the evident intention to stop him from locking her inside, but Robin is faster, and when he shuts the door she crashes against the other side, fists hammering against the thick wooden structure, screaming his name, cursing, yelling her rage, but he's quick to turn the key in the lock, removing it and shoving it inside his pocket. And then, with the help of the young man who came to check on them a few minutes ago, he secures the mechanism with the several locks placed along the door, stepping back and sighing when Regina's scream and punches on the wood become the only sound resonating around them.

"Tell everyone to stay away from this floor." Robin warns calmly, not looking away from where _she_ is locked up.

"Alright, master. Do you need something? Can I help you with anything?" The young man pauses, but before Robin answers, his gaze moving from his master to the door, he adds in a whisper "Or help her."

Robin frowns, turns towards him. "You like her, do you, Ezra?"

Ezra shrugs, still not looking at him, jumping a little at a particularly strong bangon the door as Regina keeps trying to open it by force.

"Everyone here does, master. Lady Regina was kind to all of us. Her death affected us all."

Robin fully turns to face him, puts a hand on his shoulder, catching his attention.

"Do you think I was wrong to do what I did?"

"What do you mean?"

"Turning her into… Into what I am. Should I have let her die?"

Ezra's answer is immediate. "No. You did the right thing. You couldn't know that she would-"

"What if I did know?"

"That this was going to happen?"

"Yes. I forgot how I woke up, for me it was so long ago. But when I saw her, I immediately realized. I remembered."

"But you saved her from death."

"I cursed her." Robin corrects, but Ezra shakes his head.

"You're going to free her from this state, and the Regina we all know will be back."

"I hope so. But what if I can't? What if she doesn't change?"

Ezra, despite his young age –he's barely 25- speaks with a voice carrying more maturity than Robin thought he possessed.

"You know, the story of how my ancestor saved you from your demon centuries ago is something that has passed in my family for generations. We all know the story, since we were children. And let me tell you, master, that if Ethan managed to save you with just the memory of your wife and son, the love you share with Lady Regina can overcome anything."

"You seem pretty sure of yourself."

"I am. You've never been happier than when you were together, and among my family, everyone agrees to say that they've never seen anything as strong as what you two share. Your story may be complicated, it's full of ordeals and tests, it's forbidden by the laws of nature but you made it work anyway. In the end, love always win. Love, _true love_ , is the most powerful magic of all. I believe in you, master. I believe that you can make Lady Regina remember who she is, and I believe that she is strong enough to fight the beast that has taken possession of her. Now, you need to believe it too."

xxx

It's been a week.

It's been a week, and every time he goes to see her, she welcomes him with sharp and harsh words, with punches and screams. Sometimes, he can't even enter the room, because she isn't angry, she's suffering, overwhelmed with everything that she now can feel, can hear, by her hunger and thirst, the lack of escape from the situation.

Every day, he talks to her, either directly or through the door.

He brings her memories of their life together, of her own life before him, of who she was, but until now, all he managed to do was watching her break every single object he brought her, one after the other.

Her screams and calls are constant, his ears vibrating with the sound of her voice, not giving him a moment of rest.

It's killing him.

It's only been a week, and it's killing him.

He knows it's going to take a long time, that just the need to feed is going to stay for several weeks, probably months for a vampire this young who hasn't fed yet, but it feels like it's been years already.

So to give himself some courage, he remembers _who_ he is trying to bring back. He focuses on how much he loves her, how much he _needs_ her, how wonderful life is going to be when he'll have her by his side for the rest of his life.

How wonderful it's going to be to spend entire days and nights together, making love, bodies pressed to each other in a perfect communion.

Damn, he misses it so much…

" _I will never ask you to-"_

 _She puts her fingers to his lips, shushing him instantly._

" _You think too much." Regina says softly. "Stop trying to analyze what_ I _want. You can't make decisions for me, Robin. I want this. I want_ you. _All of you. And I want you to have me." She pauses, cups his cheek, gazing at him with the softest and most determined look he ever saw. "_ All _of me."_

 _She grabs his hand, tenderly puts it on her waist, presses herself further in his embrace, shivering when his thumb dares moving up and down, caressing her slightly through her clothing._

" _Regina," Robin speaks again. "I want this. More than you can imagine, but…"_

" _But what?" She whispers softly, understanding that there's something more about this that's bothering him._

" _Since I became… With my powers… I haven't…" He sighs, looks down, before meeting her eyes again "I haven't been this close to a woman since I transformed. I don't know if I can control my strength, and I don't want to hurt you."_

 _Regina puts her hands on each side of his face, holding him gently, looking him in the eyes._

" _Then you won't."_

" _How can you be so sure?"_

" _Because I trust you, Robin. I trust you to be able to control your powers. I trust you to make love to me without hurting me. You only have to trust yourself."_

She was always the one with an endless faith in life, in love, in him.

In _them_.

She was the one whose smile could bright up a room, able to soothe all the anguish, all the fears.

She made him believe in himself.

And now, he needs to remind her of who she was. Who she _is_.

So he pushes the door open once more.

He finds her sitting in a corner, apparently comfortable, staring at something in her hands, but he can't quite make what it is.

Robin closes the door behind him, and stays still, waiting. She knows he's here, her senses allow her to locate him and everyone in the entire castle.

"Funnyhow such a small thing can hold so many promises." She says, still not looking at him.

"What are you talking about?"

She turns towards him then, getting up slowly, walking to him. She holds her hand between them, and open her palm. In the crook of her hand, there is a small, tiny, glittering object. One that he recognizes immediately. And judging by the satisfied smile she's wearing, it was exactly what she was expecting.

"I'm sure she would have made a beautiful bride." She says nonchalantly, before adding, closing her hand over the ring as she keeps talking "If you like weddings during the night, that is. A bit sad, isn't it? Imagine everyone falling asleep during the first dance… Or children being scared of the darkness…" She brings a finger to her chin, as if deeply thinking "At the same time, they usually are already in bed when the night falls. Too bad. No kid then!" Then, she looks him square in the eyes "Are you certain that she would have wanted this kind of wedding? After all, every woman dreams of the huge ceremony in the middle of a meadow, with the entire town present."

"Regina isn't any woman."

"Right! There's that! Your infinite faith in her. It's annoying, really. But then I ask you : Where is she? Why isn't she doing something when I'm doing…" She lets the ring drop to the floor, and without a warning, presses her foot on it " _this_?"

Robin reacts too late, and by the time he pushes at her and bends to retrieve the silver jewel, it's split in two, the diamond on the top cracked, though not completely broken.

As he stares, stunned and heartbroken, at what is left of the promise of a better life together, she walks away, going back to sit in her corner, smirking at him.

"Keep dreaming, Robin. But the woman you love isn't coming back."

xxx

For weeks, he tries, takes blows and evil words, receives her meanness without flinching. For weeks, he tries to bring her back to the surface.

For weeks, he fails.

Her thirst for death and blood is overcoming anything, and more than once she almost escaped, almost managed to get out of the room and start what would have been a massacre. A blood feud.

He stopped her each time. But how long can he keep going?

" _Here to talk me through again?" She snapped, ready to jump on him, ready to fight him, to attack him with her fists and sharp tongue._

" _I won't give up, Regina." Robin said calmly._

" _I hope you're very patient then. Because I have no intention to let your girlfriend take control over me."_

 _Robin's eyes opened wide, realization suddenly hitting him. "So she's still here?"_

 _Her smile turned into a wicked smirk. "Of course she is. She's desperate, trying to fight me. She's begging me not to hurt anyone, especially you. But she's no match. She's too weak."_

 _Robin froze, stayed rooted on spot, tears prickling in his eyes._

 _Regina…_

" _Let her be." He ordered firmly._

 _She spat the words with a mad sneer. "Never!"_

The fight between them had been harder this time, but as always, it ended up with him closing the door on her, unsuccessful.

How could he fight his beautiful Regina and take the risk to physically hurt her, especially now that he is certain he's fighting a demon and she's conscious underneath? He had been all wrong. He thought the demon was making Regina say this words and act this way, but it wasn't. Regina, _his_ Regina, his love, isn't being controlled by the demon. She is locked up… She is here, praying for an escape, a diversion, something to allow her to be in control of her own body and mind.

But as her presence had been revealed to him, the knowledge that she was there, fighting, brought an idea to his mind.

It's risky.

He might fail.

And if he does, he will bring the entire kingdom down with him.

But it's the only option.

Regina always believed their love was stronger than anything else. Now is time to prove her he believes it too. Now is time for _her_ to prove she was right.

"What do you want to do, master?" Ezra asks.

Robin looks straight ahead, to the horizon, his hands closing over the stone of the balcony.

"It's almost dawn."

Ezra gives him a confused look.

"I don't understand."

Robin exhales, turns towards the boy. "Leave. Evacuate the castle."

"Excuse me?"

Ezra's voice carries his incomprehension as well as his fear.

"You heard me. Take your family, and go spend a few days somewhere far from here. When you'll come back, you'll know."

"I'll know what?"

"Who won."

And Robin steps back.

xxx

He opens the door, and as expected, she's here. Sitting in her usualcorner, she turns her head slowly towards him, this wicked smirk he hates so much plastered on her face.

"Is this a courtesy visit, or do you want to have some fun?"

"Last chance. Let Regina be. Let her come back to the surface."

"What if I refuse?"

Robin enters the room completely, his demeanor straight and his voice steady.

"Then I'll have to take care of you myself."

"As if you ever succeeded until now."

"You don't know what I'm capable of."

"Well… Let the fight begin!"

She's on him in less than a second, projecting him to the ground, the stones of the castle resonating with the impact, pinning him down.

"You can't touch me. You can't _hurt_ me. I remind you too much of _her_." She spits. "That's your weakness."

"That's where you're wrong. _She_ is my _strength_. I love her too much to give up on her."

He startles her when he projects her backward, sending her against a wall, and she's stunned, but not enough to be stopped.

"Hard way then?" She questions.

"Whatever it takes."

"Very well."

Robin receives her body as she's running at full speed, and he finds himself hitting the door, the strength of the blow along with his height completely destroying it as he falls on his back on the ground.

"How are you going to stop me now that I'm out?" He hears her say from her position above him.

"Oh, trust me, I'll find a way!"

He's chasing her in the stairs a second later, running fast to catch up on her, and it's not until they reach the main hall that he succeeds.

He catches her arm, startling her and making her lose her balance, and as she falls, she brings him with her. He lands on top of her, knocking the air out of her lungs. He gets a good hold on her hands, ready to pull her up, but she surprises him, her knee crashing between his thighs, giving him no other choice but to release her as she pushes him to the side and he recovers from the pain spreading in his body.

He's up to his feet in an instant later, but she has stricken him in the stomach before he can realize, continuing with a blow to the face, then grabbing his arm and using it as a leverage to send him across the room, making him land several feet away.

She's on him before he's up, sending him blow after blow, not giving him a moment of rest, putting all her rage, all her anger, all her-

Robin catches her wrist unexpectedly before receiving an umpteenth blow, using it to push her to the side quickly as he adds a punch in her stomach, her body sliding along the perfectly smooth floor, giving him a second to recover before they're facing each other again.

"Still not giving up?"

"Never." He answers.

"Good. I'm not quite done with you yet."

She jumps on him, gripping each side of his face, but Robin is faster, closes his hands around her waist and forces her to let him go, projecting her against the dresser in the hallway, the wood shattering and breakingin pieces.

There's traces of her nails tearing his face apart, blood and bruises over his skin, but Robin is determined.

This is going to end now.

He glances at a window covered with thick curtains, spots the slight trace of light beginning to surround it.

Just a few more minutes…

He runs to Regina, reaching her as she's getting up, winding an arm around her throat, blocking one of her wrists in her back.

"Last chance for you to return where you belong and let her be free."

A cackle resonates against his forearm, coming deep from her throat despite the pressure he puts on it.

"You think it's that easy?" She sneers. "It's too late. I am here, and the only way for you to get rid of me is to destroy this body. To kill your precious girlfriend." Robin stills behind her, sighs.

"Then so be it." He forces her up, can't help but press his nose and lips to her cheek, breathing her in… But this has nothing to do with his Regina. Her scent is gone. Her warmth is gone. "I'm sorry."

He heads for the main door, struggling against her to keep her with him, but she seems to have understood his intention.

She fights him harder, becoming agitated, her breath labored, and when he manages to reach the door and pull on the mechanism, letting it open slowly, his grip loosens, and she doesn't waste a second.

His back hits the ground hard when she throws him over her shoulder, her feet crashing on his chest, knocking the breath out of him and making him scream as he feels his ribcage break and pain spreads in his body.

"You really thought it'd be that easy?" He hears. "Just waiting for the sun to raise and turn me to ashes? Do you think I am that stupid?"

"No." Robin admits painfully, a hand over his broken chest. He can feel the bones slowly healing, but considering the damages she just made, it will take more than a few seconds. He just prays it won't be too late as he sees the sun beginning to peer over the hills surrounding his castle . "But it doesn't stop me from having hope."

"Hope?" She scoffs. "Hope doesn't exist. Hope is just a sweet illusion created to make people believe their miserable lives can be better."

She walks on him, glancing up to the sky, grabbing him by his arm and harshly pulling on it, dragging a powerless Robin across the entrance and towards the edge of the very large balcony running along the castle's main door.

"It's stupid, really." She says. "You and I, we could have been great together. We could have been the new rulers of this world. If only you had accepted me, instead of whining over your girlfriend."

"She- _ooof_ " His lets out a painful cry as she releases him and it hits the floor hardly, shaking his fractured body. "She is worth it. She is worth being fought for."

"Well, I'm sorry to tell you this," she says, looking up at the sun rays beginning to envelop the land and slowly progressing towards the castle, making her take a step back to hide in the shadow of the hall. "But you lost the fight."

Robin looks up, understands what she's talking about, closes his eyes, tries to get up but the pain is too strong, his bones breaking and clattering with each new effort.

He gives up then.

His chest is crushed and though the healing is working, he knows he doesn't have enough time to be able to escape before the light has reached him.

It's not on him anymore. He did everything he could.

He just hopes that, if he fails, someone will stop her.

"I love you." He murmurs.

"I told you. Love is weakness." She states .

"No," Robin corrects in a voice that begins to tremble. "It's strength."

And as light makes its way towards them, as it is about to reach _him_ , Regina feels something hit her, something _shake_ her.

She stares at his body lying still on the ground, and a force is pulling her forward, working against her will, her body shaken once more, and she presses a hand over her chest, winces as the sensation comes back over and over again.

"What-"

Light is at the edge of the balcony, a few inches from Robin's foot, realization of what is happening striking her the second it reaches him, and Robin's scream as the sun burns him through his clothing has Regina reacting instantly.

" _Robin!_ "

She's on him in an instant, pulling at his hand, bringing him inside, away from the light, safe in the darkness of what is now their lives.

"Robin!" She calls again, releasing his body and moving to his side, kneeling down, a hand over his chest, the other caressing his face. "Robin, please! Look at me! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

He opens his eyes, and stares at her with incredulity.

He faces a glowing, bright smile and shining brown eyes, tears prickling at the corner, some slipping free.

"I love you too."

It takes him a moment to realize, to understand the meaning behind the words, to feel the softness of the hand pressed against his cheek, the tenderness of her fingers running along his broken chest, the apology in her eyes.

His hand is on her collarbone, and that's when he feels it. A beat.

A _heartbeat_.

He looks up at her in awe, hand sliding up to her neck, feeling the pulse of her blood running through her veins, the way it reappeared in his body as he fell he love with her years ago.

And then, words come back to him.

"It's you?"

The way she bites herlower lip as she nods, a strangled sob shaking her as she voices it, how she cups his cheek and runs her thumb along his hairline, makes him certain of the identity of the woman he's facing.

However, he can't help but ask again, more to ear it one more time than to confirm his certainty.

"It's really you?"

"Yes, Robin." She confirms "It's me. I'm here."

There's no second thought.

Despite the way his body is still painfully hurting him, he tries to sit up. Regina's hand presses on his chest softly to slow him as she tells him to be careful, he's hurt, but Robin doesn't care.

He cups her neck, and in one soft movement, brings her lips to his.

The soothing feeling of her lips against his wipes away all the pain, has his body quaking in her embrace. Theway her arm is wrapped around his neck to keep him close, how her other hand is gripping his shirt tightly, her tongue pressing against his, makes his head dizzy with a love so overwhelming he has to pull back to take a deep breath.

"I thought I lost you." He admits with a broken voice.

"I did too." She says, keeping him close, her forehead against his. "I tried so hard. I'm sorry, Robin. I swear, I tried to fight her, but she was too strong. It's only when we understood what was going to happen to you, that you were going to die, that she dropped her guard and I-"

"Shhh," he cuts her, playing with one brand of her hair. "It's ok. I'm fine now, and you are too. I'm-"

The way he breaks off has Regina look up at him, confused, until she sees it too.

It's the first time she sees him like this, but the way Robin's face is drown under daylight makes his features shine and his face become radiant, the blue of his eyes lighter than it's ever been.

Except when he's blinded by the sun and squints against it.

"How is this possible?" He murmurs, staring around them, noticing that they are both surrounded by the light which entered the castle through the still open door, realizing that his whole body is moving normally, no residual pain lingering within his chest, the healing done.

Regina follows his gaze, as confused as he is, not realizing, until…

"The kiss."

Robin's head snaps up. "What?"

" _Our_ kiss," she repeats. "I felt something… Different, when it happened. I don't know, it's hard to explain. But I wasn't like anything I've experienced with you before."

Robin remembers his own sensation when he finally, after months of torture starring at his love without being able to be with her, was able to press his lips to hers.

It had been so overwhelming, so exceptional. So…

"Magical." He says.

"What do you mean?"

"There's something Ezra told me a few weeks ago," Robin explains, adjusting Regina in his arms, sitting up more fully and holding her against him, enjoying the warm feeling of sun rays upon his skin. "When I was losing hope to save you from… from what I did to you-"

"Robin," Regina cuts him. "Whatever you heard me, or… _her_ say, you're not to blame for this. You only tried to save me. I was the one too weak to fight this demon."

"But you did fight it. You came back to me." He brushes a strand of hair away from her face, smiles when she leans into his palm. "Ezra told me that true love is the most powerful magic of all, that he was certain the love we share could overcome anything. So I took a bet." Robin reveals. "I knew you were trapped, that you needed help to beat her, and I thought that if I was about to die, maybe it would give you the strength and distraction necessary. That it would bring you back to me."

"You made her believe she had won on purpose?"

"Yes. I could've gotten rid of her if I wanted to, but I couldn't bring myself to rip you from your last chance to finally take control over her. I had faith that you wouldn't let her kill me. That you were going to save me."

"So, it means that you finally admitted the depth of my love for you?" she teases, nuzzling his cheek.

"I do." Robin looks ahead, to the blue sky and the blinding sun in front of them "And it seems that the universe has given us a chance to live this love right out in the open."

"Well, if true love can overcome anything, it surely can break any curse." She reasons.

She leans in, presses her lips to his, lingering there, breathing in softly as she runs her tongue along his lower lip, then exhaling as he welcomes her in his mouth.

Robin's hand closes over the back of her head, keeping her to him, deepening the kiss, his other hand running along her back, feeling the warmth of her skin, and for once it doesn't contrast with the coldness of his own.

He forces himself to pull back, his forehead sticking to hers, his breath melting with hers, and when he opens his eyes, he smiles.

There is no more time to lose.

He brings a hand in the inside pocket of his coat, one that was luckily untouched during the fight –Robin was actually more in control than the demon thought he was- and brings a small box between them, catching Regina's attention.

"What is this?"

"Open it."

The corner of her mouth tip up in a curious smile, but she takes the small velvety box and carefully opens it, discovering itscontent.

She raises glassy eyes at him "How? I thought it was broken."

"It is." Robin answers. "Somehow." He points at the ring she now holds between her thumb and forefinger, helps her see the details of the stone "There's still a trace of where you…" He hesitates, corrects " _she_ broke it. But Ezra managed to put it back together."

"He did?"

"Yes."

"Did you know?"

"Not until a few hours ago. He gave it back to me before he left. He was certain I would made good use of it…"

" _Are you sure you don't need me to stay, master?"_

 _Robin put a kind hand on the young man's shoulder, smiled warmly at him under who he knew was his mother's caring gaze._

" _I need you to stay safe. I'm going to release her, and I don't want to give her a reason to make more damages. Go! I'll be alright."_

 _He received a small nod, and Ezra began to step away, but something stopped him, made him face Robin again._

" _Then let me give you something."_

 _He plunged his hand inside the small package he took for the few days to come, revealed a small box he handedhis master._

" _What is this?"_

" _I wanted to wait until I come back, but I think you will need it today."_

 _When Robin discovered the repaired engagement ring, the one Regina split in two weeks ago, he looked at the man with a gratefulness he thought had left him when Regina was swallowed in the darkness._

" _I'm sorry, it's not perfect, I did what I could with my uncle's tools, but-"_

" _Thank you." Robin looked up from the ring to the man in front of him. "Thank you. For everything. It's been a long time since someone else than Regina had faith in me the way you do. I'm glad to have such a caring friend."_

 _Ezra opened his eyes wide, not believing it._

 _Since Ethan died centuries ago, despite the fact that his family had stayed at Robin's service, not once did the powerful lord of the night called anyone else his friend._

" _Thank you, master. It's a honor."_

 _But Robin puts a hand to his shoulder. "No, Ezra. The honor is mine."_

Regjna smiles, turns the ring between her thumb and forefinger, thoughtful. "I've always liked this boy. He's kind and willing to help, eager to do anything possible to please others."

"You can thank him when you see him. He helped me not giving up on myself, convinced me that I was stronger than I thought, that I had the power to bring you back. He has an endless faith in you, in us, believes in our love maybe more than we do."

"I certainly will."

Slowly, without a warning, Regina slips the ring to her finger, admiring the way it shines with the light, how beautiful it is at her hand.

"I didn't even ask." Robin says, lifting an eyebrow.

Regina gives him an amused pointed look.

"As if all of this wasn't enough of a declaration."

Robin chuckles, a soothing warm feeling spreading through him as he recognizes Regina's fierce spirit. "True."

He brushes her cheek with the back of his hand, letting it slide down to her neck, then resting flat against her chest, right where her heart lies.

For a moment, he just feels, enjoys the freedom at being able to have a heart beating in the crook of his palm and not being forced to control the primal instinct screaming at him to rip it off the chest and drink directly from it.

"It's so weird." He admits lowly. "It was so long ago. I don't remember how it felt like to be human."

Regina smiles, understanding, kissing his cheek before getting up, taking hishand and pulling him up, then walking backward towards the balcony, Robin following.

She stops when she hits the edge, turns around and let's Robin's arms instinctively close around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder as he presses a kiss in the crook of her neck, making her shiver.

She contemplates the landscape ahead of them, the infinite beauty of nature, the forest to their left and mountain to their right, and most of all, what's shining right in front of them.

She cranes her neck just enough to be able to look at Robin and see his beautiful face illuminated by daylight.

"Now, you can feel it every day. You might not be an immortal anymore, but I will make sure that you will taste every enjoymentbeing a human can give. Because, Robin, our life together has just begun."


End file.
